From Nicaragua to Ireland: Fairtrade Coffee and Global Solidarity

In 2005, SOPPEXCCA began exporting coffee to Bewley’s in Ireland, with the first shipment amounting to 250 bags. Two decades later, more than 50,000 bags have been exported, with over $1.5 million in Fairtrade premiums invested in education, reforestation, child labour prevention and food security.

These investments, Fátima explains, have strengthened rural families, reduced poverty and even helped prevent forced migration.

“Peace can only be achieved with social justice and with a social economy where the investments of an organisation are in the hands of true owners—the small-scale producers.” — Fátima Ismael

The Bewley’s perspective

From the Bewley’s side, the partnership reflects values that go back to the company’s Quaker roots. As Cathal Murphy, Head of Innovation and Sustainability at Bewley’s, explains: the guiding principle is simple—“we do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.”

Bewley’s was the first company in Ireland to source Fairtrade coffee back in 1996. By the time SOPPEXCCA entered the picture in 2005, there was already a strong commitment to fairer and more sustainable sourcing. Over time, this has grown into a relationship based not only on quality, but also on shared responsibility for communities and the environment.

Consumers, coffee and global connections

For Irish consumers sipping coffee in Bewley’s Grafton Street café, the connection may be invisible. But every Fairtrade purchase helps ensure sustainable livelihoods for farming families, supports education, and protects the environment.

The SOPPEXCCA–Bewley’s partnership has also weathered challenges together—from global price crashes to the COVID-19 pandemic—proving that Fairtrade is not just a logo but a long-term relationship of solidarity.

This is what Fátima calls the “circle of teaching, learning and accompaniment” that links producers, companies and consumers in shared responsibility.